Mr Brightside defends PB Lawrence crown
Dual Group 1 winner Mr Brightside (Bullbars) showed he had lost none of his vigour for the game as he successfully defended his PB Lawrence Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) crown at Caulfield yesterday, handing Will Hayes his first stakes winner since joining brothers, Ben and JD on the licence earlier this month.
Sent off the $2.35 favourite, Mr Brightside was given the perfect ride by Craig Williams to eventually beat Pinstriped (Street Boss) by a length and three-quarters, with Group 1 winner Aegon (Sacred Falls) producing an eye-catching performance to finish another nose away in third.
To add merit to the victory, Mr Brightside ran a slick time for the trip, returning 1.21.71, just 0.51 seconds outside of the course record on a Good 4 rated surface.
Ben Hayes said Mr Brightside was likely to head to the Memsie Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) back at Caulfield in a fortnight followed by the Makybe Diva Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Flemington two weeks later.
That race will determine Mr Brightside’s spring path with the King Charles III Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Randwick on October 14 or the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 28 the gelding’s potential spring targets.
“From when he jumped, he landed in a beautiful position, and it was an easy watch,” Hayes said. “It was an absolute ten-out-of-ten ride by Craig.
“We’ll see how he pulls up first, but the Memsie will probably be his next run and then the Makybe Diva and from there we’ll make a decision, but Sydney looks quite tempting.
“There’s some nice money up there and we’ll have to see how he is racing. We’ll take it race by race, but the Memsie is probably his next start.”
One brother missing from the Lindsay Park training team was Will who was playing Australian Rules Football for Euroa against Kyabram in the Goulburn Valley League on Saturday.
“I think Will would have had the water boy running out the results, and I think he’ll be a very happy man,” JD Hayes added.